What Spring Does to the Cherry Trees
by Cheeky Slytherin Lass
Summary: Cho prefers to be alone. It makes life so much easier. But a visitor from her past can change everything.:: ChoMarietta for Luna


_For Luna, as part of the Ultimate Fic Exchange Challenge._

* * *

Cho frowns, setting down her teacup at the sudden knock on the door. She isn't expecting company. No one even knows that she's here. She had left without a word after the war, and she's been keen to keep her head down, not make any new friends with her neighbors.

She wants to be alone.

The knocking continues.

Cho considers keeping quiet. Maybe they'll give up and leave. But the knocking only becomes more urgent.

"Cho? Cho Chang?" a voice calls, and Cho feels her heart rate elevate slightly as she recognizes the speaker.

With a sigh, she climbs to her feet and a crosses the room, hesitating. She doesn't have to open the door. She could stay hidden and leave town as soon as it's safe.

But she feels something stir inside of her. The loneliness aches all the way into her bones. Something, someone is out there. Familiarity, comfort.

She opens the door, taking a deep breath. "Hello, Marietta."

Marietta is still as beautiful as Cho remembers, all slender limbs and honey curls. Even the scars on her face, reminders of a betrayal so long ago, cannot distract from her beauty. Cho forces herself to look away.

"How did you find me?" Cho asks, gesturing for her old friend to come inside.

Marietta follows her to the kitchen table, and Cho sets about making a second cup of tea.

"Magic would make it easier," Marietta notes.

"I've given that up."

"Why?"

"You were there. You fought at Hogwarts. Magic is dangerous."

"In the wrong hands," Marietta says. "And we both know that's not why you gave it up. You're smart enough to know that a thing is only as evil as the person using it."

Cho heaves a weary sigh as she removes the kettle from the heat and pours it over the tea bag. "Cream, two sugars?"

"You remember. Why did you leave? I was in the hospital wing, and when I woke up, you were gone. No one had seen you. Your parents hadn't heard from you. You just vanished without a trace," Marietta says, accepting her cup.

Cho sits across from her, eyes closing.

…

" _Will she live?" Cho asks._

 _Madam Pomfrey offers her a kind, reassuring smile. "She's lost a lot of blood. I've given her Replenishing Potions, of course. She's a fighter."_

 _Cho smiles down at Marietta. She looks so frail in her state. Her skin is a little too pale and beaded with sweat. Her body is bruised and battered. But she is alive. "She is."_

…

"It's because of me, isn't it?" Marietta whispers.

Cho bites her lip and leans back in her chair. "Let's not talk about it, Mar. It's the past, and-"

"I need to know. I've spent three years trying to find you, Cho," Marietta insists, striking her palm against the table. "Everyone told me to give up. They said you didn't want to be found. But I needed to. I need that closure, Cho."

Guilt weighs in her chest. Her stomach sours, and she pushes her tea away. She's afraid she might be sick if she tries to drink. "I was afraid."

"Afraid of what? Afraid of me?"

"Afraid of what it would mean," Cho answers quietly.

…

 _Cho sits beside Marietta, stroking her curls and humming a lullaby she vaguely remembers from her childhood._

" _Pretty song," Marietta croaks._

 _Cho smiles. "You're awake. How do you feel?"_

" _Like death."_

" _You're not dying. Madam Pomfrey has assured me of that," Cho chuckles, taking Marietta's hand gently. "You'll be out of here before you know it."_

 _Marietta squeezes her hand. "I have to tell you something. I nearly died, and all I could think about as I lay there was that I would die without telling you."_

 _Cho tips her head to the side, curious. "Me? What is it, Mar?"_

" _I love you, Cho."_

" _I love you, too, Mar. You're my best friend."_

" _No. Not like that. I love you."_

 _Cho feels a flutter in her stomach. It should be a relief to hear those words, but her heart feels as though a hand is inside her chest, squeezing tightly._

" _You should sleep, Mar. You need your rest."_

" _Will you be here when I wake up?"_

" _Sleep, darling. Sleep."_

 _Marietta closes her eyes._

…

"I love you, too," Cho says, years too late.

"Then why did you leave me? I woke up, and you were gone!"

"I told you, I was afraid! I have loved you for a long time, Marietta. The only other person I loved this way was Cedric. And that scared me. I lost Cedric. I lost the only person who said that he loved me. And then you were there, saying those same words, and I panicked! I was the one who found you, you know. I loved you, and I was scared to death that I was about to lose you, too! And when you were awake, when you told me that you loved me… I didn't know what to do. Love scares me, okay?"

She doesn't know what she expects. Perhaps Marietta will be angry and leave. Perhaps she will scream and tell Cho that she's a coward. Lord knows that Cho deserves it.

Marietta climbs to her feet, and Cho slumps forward with a groan. Of course. Of course she's going to leave. But Marietta doesn't head for the door. She moves behind Cho, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"It scares me, too. I think it would scare any sane person," Marietta whispers. "Love is handing someone else your heart and trusting them to keep it safe. You broke mine."

"And yet here you are."

"I needed answers."

"You always were stubborn," Cho laughs.

Marietta guides Cho to her feet, their eyes meeting. "I love you. I still love you," she says. "I could have given up. It would have been so much easier on me if I had. But part of me always believed that you would love me, too. I waited years for you."

Cho wraps her arms around Marietta, pulling her close.

"Come back with me," Marietta says. "Come home. We can have a life together now. The war is over, and things are becoming beautiful again. I don't want to do this alone."

Cho pulls back, searching Marietta's face and finding only love and honesty there. "I don't want to be alone anymore," she says.

Marietta cups Cho's face in her hands, smiling. "Then we'll be together," she whispers before kissing her.


End file.
